Muller Martini

NEWPORT NEWS, VA—Printing equipment manufacturer Muller Martini will reduce its workforce here by nearly 100 employees as it winds down book binding and mailroom equipment operations, the Daily Press reported.

Muller Martini Manufacturing Corp. confirmed Monday that it will cut 98 workers by the end of the year as it continues to wind down its Newport News book binding and print finishing operations. The company announced in February that it planned to close its two Oyster Point production plants by the end of January 2012.

Muller originally planned phased layoffs beginning in July and continuing through the end of the year, but because many of its workers were able to find other manufacturing jobs in the area it did not have forced mass job cuts.

Bookmasters’ Océ JetStream 1000 inkjet press raises the crossover point of digital vs. offset printing to the 2,000 to 4,000 unit range, a very attractive alternative for book publishers. “We no longer have to print an entire book in color just to accommodate a few full-color pages,” says Ray Sevin, president, Bookmasters Manufacturing Services.

At this year’s GRAPH EXPO, Muller Martini invited booth visitors to “Connect with MM Digital” via live, in-person demonstrations of innovative technology engineered to accommodate today’s traditional and digital demands. Muller Martini was pleased to report two significant equipment purchases that took place on the show floor:

Instead of seeing a gaggle of tire kickers, the printers and trade finishers who perused McCormick Place South during Graph Expo 2011 had more sober intentions. There is clearly pent-up demand in the marketplace, particularly for finishing equipment.

FCL has installed a Xerox Color 1000 digital color press, two high-speed automatic Muller Martini saddlestitchers and a MCS 600 Array inkjet unit for mailing. “Our customers look to us to make the investments required to provide the latest innovations to help them create effective communication pieces and to generate greater return on investment from their marketing and communication materials,” said said Michael Ford, president and CEO of FCL Graphics.

Muller Martini Mailroom Systems will be showcasing both its mailroom machinery and software at GRAPH EXPO’s Newspaper Pavilion, Sept. 11-14 in booth #1466. Company representatives and product experts will provide visitors with a first-hand look at the equipment and workflow technology that’s driving the industry forward.

Muller Martini’s Scalable SigmaLine has been nominated for an “Encore” award at this year’s GRAPH EXPO event. With its ability to produce 1,000 fully variable length, width and thickness books per hour, printers can enjoy the flexibility of a near-line configuration, productivity of an in-line workflow and the intelligence to guarantee book integrity in one system. 

Muller Martini will showcase its Primera Digital saddle-stitching system which can accommodate both digital and conventional print finishing processes. The Primera Digital manufacturing solution opens up the market for full-color digitally printed magazines, periodicals and brochures.

CDS Publications installed Muller Martini’s Diamant MC 35 Bookline technology to facilitate the manufacturing of a wide range of printed book products, including textbooks and high-quality commercial work. It’s the first installation of this system in the western United States